Clearing Poem by Susan Lacovara

Just as the gray is stripped away
A banana peel to a prettier sky
So too, your grimace
Turned softly to a grin
Corners upturned
Revealing the fleshy undertone
Of forgiveness

The humidity of harsh words
Stifling
As if choking on exhaust fumes
Cleansed
By the parting of heavy clouds
Ready to empty their bucketed burden of rain
Rinsing away last night's pain

In the bursting buds of newly discovered Spring
The soil offering a wetted oasis
Drink up and flourish with gladness
For I have been too long under ground
And it is within reason to welcome a clearing

Fold your umbrella walls
Let the sunshine of my love
(and my need to share it)
Warm with fertility your field
Stretch out on the green grass of my belief
Close your eyes and breathe in the honeysuckle
That swells in my heart

There is a radiating glow, Earth, sea, sky
(and ME)
Why would you rather commit to stay in the cold
I have kisses red, like azaleas
I lend you long stemmed lazy afternoons
Swinging in a hammock
As time crawls slower than the ivy vines
I will give you cherry blossom smiles
And laughter, long as the moon rises
Can you deny the streaming sunlight
That plays upon my hair

Are you there?
In the clearing....